There are many sets of rules for visitors to the South. The first rule on every list is, unexpurgated, 1) Don't order filet mignon or pasta primavera at Waffle House. It's just a diner. They serve breakfast 24 hours a day. Let them cook something they know. If you confuse them, they'll kick your ass.

Wow. Sweet tea at Skyline. Tonight I took my kids to the Skyline in Cold Spring, KY. (The chili Skyline, not the tavern Skyline.) When I ordered my tea and the waitress asked if I wanted sweet or unsweet tea, I almost fell out of my chair. I got half and half and it was pretty good. My refill was straight sweet and it was a little much, but still enjoyable. Never thought I'd live to see the day.

uuuuuummmmmm hello! this would be my first post on here- so hurah for me! !!

any hoot! i need to write a paper about how unsafe it is for a youth (15 years old) to be at a waffle house late at night (2-3 am) i was out with some friends & the parents got worried & grounded me- forcing me to write this paper. if any of u have some personal stories of bad or dangerouse incedences (sp) at WH please tell me so i can use it in my paper ^_^ thanx a mil!

You came to the right place. Our local Waffle House is in an area that has several "rowdy" bars close by. These bars are known for their occasional "disagreements" that have been known to include innocent bystanders and sometimes to continue at whatever 24-hour food places the regulars pick after close. One night patrons of one of these bars decided that they weren't being served fast enough. Their solution to this problem was to take over the restaurant and cook the food themselves. Apparently they chased the staff into the parking lot and locked them out, then resumed the party. They were given lovely parting gifts including an all expenses paid trip to the county lockup when the cops arrived.I know the late night hours sound like fun, but keep in mind that this isn't the same friendly society that it was just a few short years ago. These days people are more inclined to settle disagreements violently and to hold a grudge. Twenty+ years ago when I was in your shoes I didn't know anyone that carried a gun on a regular basis. Now it seems like every wannabe banger packs and doesn't mind using it as a punctuation mark. Danger sounds like a good time until your skull is the one that someone decides to use for stomping practice. Trust me, I've been there. (I'm there right now. I work nights and get to see a lot of it firsthand.) It's not like the movies. Fifteen is too young to be playing grown up. Wait a few years and find out how much fun it can be to play it without worrying about a curfew. End of lecture. Hope I didn't bore you like I bore my 14 year old.

uuuuuummmmmm hello! this would be my first post on here- so hurah for me! !!

any hoot! i need to write a paper about how unsafe it is for a youth (15 years old) to be at a waffle house late at night (2-3 am) i was out with some friends & the parents got worried & grounded me- forcing me to write this paper. if any of u have some personal stories of bad or dangerouse incedences (sp) at WH please tell me so i can use it in my paper ^_^ thanx a mil!

First of all, I can tell you that if I ever caught my 15 year olds out at that time of the night grounding would have been the least of their worries.

But, that's not what you wanted to know. A waffle House at that time of night is where folks who have been drinking for the previous seven hours wind up.

At one Waffle House near me a drunken ex-boyfriend of a woman who worked there showed up at 2;30 one morning and proceeded to kill her and wound several customers.

At another, not far away, two drunks got into a fight and one of them ran behind the counter, grabbed a knife, cut the arm of the grill cook while trying to get to his fighting partner, and was finally slammed to the floor by two customers, one of whom happened to be a township police sergeant who was in uniform and working at the time.

I love Waffle Houses. I really like their food, their employees and their managers. But a Waffle House is not a place to be at the time of night you were there.

Good luck with your paper, and I hope you won't be grounded for as long as I'd have grounded my kids -- at least six months.

Has anyone been to one of the Indiana Waffle Houses? There are I think 4 of them in Indiana. The other waffle house chain is called Waffle and Steak in Indiana.

Waffle House had to call themselves Waffle and Steak in Indiana because of a separate chain of restaurants here already using the Waffle House name. Now it seems the Hoosier Waffle Houses are changing their name to Sunshine Cafes. Maybe to stop the confusion for out of state diners who were expecting the national chain.

Several people mentioned Boone Tavern in Berea, KY and how it was staffed by college students from nearby Berea College. Berea College provides a college education just to kids who could never afford to go otherwise. They have no tuition but have to work at the college to pay for schooling. Graduates consider themselves a success if their own kids won't be able to go there.

It's late one Friday night. You, accompanied by a select group of your closest friends, drive down the interstate, wanting desperately to be at home in the warmth of your bed. Suddenly, the lot of us sees the sign. Like a beacon it is, summoning us to it like proverbial moths to a flame. Forgetting about the need for sleep, we turn onto the off-ramp, a string of drool dripping down and off of your chin. "Waffle House," we say with a gleam in our eyes, "we have arrived." What follows will be one of the most important events of our adult lives, a tireless ritual continuing into infinity all across the nation's good expanse.

The Waffle House is without a doubt one of the last surviving institutions of small-town Americana. Started in the mid-50's, this restaurant franchise has endured in ways that defy modernization. While McDonald's had to appeal to the younger set by adopting a clown as a spokesperson, and while countless other fast food eateries have embarked on multi-million dollar ad campaigns to modernize their images, the Waffle House has remained solid by stating simply, "Good Food Fast, So Come On Down." The place is open nonstop: twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, dedicated to the service of the customer. This simple, hardworking approach appeals to countless numbers of hungry persons, and so it has remained relatively unchanged since its inception.

One noteworthy quality about the Waffle House is the atmosphere. My friends and I burst through the door to claim a booth and instantly attract stares from some of the most degenerate faces on the planet. This confrontation brings to mind the timeless class struggle between the Haves and the Have-nots, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, the rebellious youth and structured establishment. The initial cold shoulder provokes us to stare back in retaliation so that we can prove to them that we aren't intimidated. Our struggle, however, is forgotten once the waitress finally arrives, casually sauntering over to us with looks of total indifference. She stuffs her loose and falling hair back up into her gaudy, burgundy cloth hat.

"So, whaddyallhave?" she asks, waiting for us to decipher her strange and jumbled dialect. More often than not, the only reason we come here is to order what Waffle House is most famous for, and that (as if you needed to be told) is coffee. Waffle House coffee is a mystical brew with high caffeine content and an identifiable taste. No other restaurant's coffee is as desirable, because only Waffle House's has that "real man" industrial-strength flavor. Grumpily, the waitress stomps away, aware that her tip will be far less than generous.

Anyone who knows anything about the politics behind the Waffle House experience also knows that there are definite rules and guidelines that dictate how the course of events is to be played out during the span of a single visit. This routine begins with the arrival of the much-anticipated cups of coffee, continues with pleasant conversation and playful intercourse amongst the customers, and culminates with the paying of the check and the inevitable departure. Our Waffle House chef makes the claim that the people who frequent the restaurant are, for the most part, regulars, and that they all seem to welcome the idea of taking part in the habitual ceremony.

With the arrival and preparation of our new cream-colored cups of caffeinated comfort, we are ready to begin the sacred rite. Pinkies extended, the group begins, rather amateurishly, to offer each other our various opinions on politics, philosophy, religion, weather, sex, television overkill, music, decay of civilization, and the symbolic significance of The Trolley in Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. Everyone takes pride in rattling off clever little quips and witticisms, some of which are so obscure that I'm not even sure if I fully understand their meanings. Nevertheless, we all laugh loudly, not caring that some old and bearded biker is glaring from the far and dark corner.

Next, after a lull in the conversation, you distance yourself from your friends and start to observe the other goings-on in the restaurant. Through a toxic cloud of cigarette smoke, I peek over the back of the booth as the chef grills his gastronomical masterpieces with impressive speed and grace. His metal spatula clacks and glides with a soothing scrape across the slick metal surface of the grill. Slightly above that, I notice the familiar sizzle of fat and grease, and every so often wisps of smoke escape into the vent above the grill surface. I notice the stacks of various condiments, sticky from use as well as misuse. Sugar, honey, ketchup, mustard, and various other bottles and containers are waiting patiently to have their contents dumped into empty bottles and containers by the oftentimes incompetent and apathetic waitresses.

It is clandestinely known to the seasoned observer that all Waffle Houses are the same. Not to say that they have the same basic design, it is something much more than that. Waffle Houses are all exactly the same. They all have the same chef, the same waitresses, the same greasy food, the same greasy customers, even down to the same songs on the jukebox. Perhaps it can even be wondered if there is in actuality only one Waffle House, following unsuspecting motorists on their routes and suddenly appearing on the interstate exit whenever it senses the driver's hunger. Or perhaps not.

The time-honored routine next suggests that we get up and walk over to the jukebox which is the only time we really feel like moving. Stifling giggles, we notice titles such as "I've Got the Waffle House Blues" and "We're All a Big Waffle House Family" and "You Can Shoot My Dog and Wreck My Car, But Don't Take Away My Waffle House." The titles, I assume, speak for themselves, and despite a seizing fit of desire, I resist the urge to plunk in a quarter to hear one of the little ditties. We wander back to our seats and quietly spy on.

The employees may help to create the mystique of the Waffle House ritual, but it is the customers who truly make the place the Mecca that it is. The majority of them are middle to old age, and most of them are married. Lots of beards, lots of camouflage clothing, lots of cigarettes, lots of annoyingly loud rednecks, and lots of newspapers fill the room. One elderly gentleman in particular has an uncontrollable cough and yellowing eyes, most likely resulting of a lifelong love affair with tobacco. Elderly ladies with blue hair gossip about the city's more prominent individuals as their husbands sit busily gorging themselves, content with remaining silent. An excited group of hunters are chewing away on some very oily hash browns and bragging about the machismo it takes to hide in a tree and dismember a deer with heavy artillery. Several college-aged kids and young adults come in from some sporting event, all animated and lively and (probably) drunk.

My now-hyperactive friends are banging their spoons on the sides of their cups for refills, producing an irritating "ding" that summons the waitress in a matter of seconds. She silently fills the cups and walks away, still bitter about her tip, still cramming her hair into her hat. Our conversation turns to more mundane topics. Everyone offers ideas as to what sort of non-monetary items should be left as a tip: severed hand, Dead-Rat-On-A Stick, an out-of-date telephone book still in the trunk of my car. Gratuities, everyone agrees, should be a more creative design. After all, money is just so impersonal.

Listening in on conversations will disclose to the eavesdropper what the weather will be like tomorrow, how so-and-so's kidney stone is passing, why the country is going to Hell in a hand basket, and all sorts of interesting bits of trivia. Eventually, a revelation concerning the customers becomes obvious: they aren't just here to eat. The Waffle House customers are people who have definite opinions on an issue and go there to make themselves heard. Never mind how unimportant and trivial some of their points may be; this place is a social forum to air your personal views for everyone to hear. You may or may not know the people, but the atmosphere gives off the illusion that you're dining with a bunch of war buddies, spinning yarns and trading words. By the way, did you hear the latest? Remember that George Bush character who used to be President? While campaigning in North Carolina, he stopped at the Waffle House and ordered, get this, a waffle, which was intended to be shot at Bill Clinton for, as Bush says, "waffling" on the major issues. With all of these political bigwigs providing a free-ad campaign for Waffle House, it is no wonder that business has been so good recently?

You feel a sense of security in a Waffle House because it is indeed a magical place; no harm can conceivably befall a person locked within its safe confines. The waitresses may not be as warm as that cup of coffee you sip on, but you wouldn't trade them for any other waitresses in the world. At the very least they wear those really ugly hats that bring smiles to your heart. You are there with friends. You are happy. The Waffle House is a veritable Utopia. Yes, I tell myself, I love the Waffle House. And I mean it. I don't feel this good at home, and certainly not at school. If the Waffle House were a woman, would you ask her to marry you? Of course I would; it would be foolish not to.

Help. The Waffle House closest to my house was boarded up and closed this past Sunday afternoon. No warnings or anything. They had a crowd as usual for their breakfast and lunch times. There is a new Waffle House about 3 miles away but not close to the Interstate that is opening. I can't understand why this one was closed down.

Is this the longest running thread on this board or not? Sure seems like it.

Anywho, I'm fortunate enough to have 2 WH's on my way home from work. (I get off at 0730). I have found that the one closest to work has the better service of the 2. The other, about a half mile from home always has inconsistent service. The work one is usually pretty good.

As far as I'm concerned, WH is about the best CHAIN place for breakfast food. Gotta love those HBs.

Before I had to make a trip to Arkansas with my wife and kids so she could go see a big and important doctor down there, I had never heard of Waffle House. I started seeing the occasional WH sign when we got to Tulsa, and were soon surrounded by them by the time we crossed into Arkansas. I see to remember while passing through Russellville in I40 that there was one highway exit with a Waffle House on both sides of the interstate, just a few hundred yards apart and clearly visible to each other. We ate at one in Little Rock -- I had the patty melt (wonderful) and the wife had waffles and hashbrowns (even better!). I'm all for being a proponent of eating local, eating native, and all that, but if you've never HAD Waffle House, and you're in the area of a Waffle House, it won't hurt anyone if you eat there occasionally. I just wish they'd cross over into southern Kansas. Of course, I also wish that White Castle would return to Wichita...

I really enjoy the hash browns there. Covered and smothered and well please (that means with cheese, onions and cooked well done).

I have to respectfully disagree. Awful House's hashbrowns are shredded potatoes that don't stick together. If you can't eat them with a fork, they ain't hash browns. I had lousy waffles at one in Orlando, and never went back in twenty years. And if there were a Denny's or Perkins in the northern Atlanta metro area, I wouldn't have revisited one since.

And as to smothering food with (processed) cheese and onions, ifthe food is good, you wouldn't need to. Unless it's a Philly cheese steak, of course. Then it'd be a crime if you you didn't.

I am sorry but I do not understand this love for Waffle House. A few months ago, my daughter and I were in Virigina. Our hotel was not going to serve breakfast until 9 AM so we saw a Waffle House a few hundred feet away and went there with fingers crossed.

We walked into a smoke filled place. If the food was going to be really good, we would not have been able to get the taste of it anyway. My daughter ordered a waffe and I ordered the hash browns covered. Our waitress was a cross between a chain smoking madam and a hapless tired gal. Jan's waffle was a little burnt and my hashbrowns consisted mostly of shredded potatoes with cheap melted cheese. It was an ugly meal with ugly service. On the way out, we noticed a table with 2 couples where both the women had been served really blackened waffles! I will never enter anothe Waffle House in my life." />

IMHO, I would have to say that your experience was due to a poor store management and lack of quality control. I have eaten at many WH's and have not had any bad experiences. Sometimes they do leave the waffle on the iron too long, but they will gladly cook you another one if you think the first one is a bit overdone.

I do realize that not everyone has the same tastes.

BTW ... the smoking issue is the only real complaint I have with WH. Most now have the smokers on one side and the non-smokers on the other. But realizing that those are pretty small buildings, the smoke still tends to bleed over.

Hi all, I had a waffle House experience today that will never be forgotten. I went to my local Waffle house in Dacula Georgia this Sunday morning like I have every Sunday morning for the past 3 years with my 1 year old granddaughter. It was kind of busy so I waited about 20 minutes for a seat. 2 seats at the counter would have been cool as I was going to put my granddughter in a high chair anyway but they led to a table anyway. A young and obviously new waitress took my order and brought my food in a reasonable amount of time but this is where the story goes bad. I had been alternating between feeding my granddaughter and eating my own meal while reading my sunday paper, I asked for a refill on my coffee and then waited for the waitress to bring back my spoon that she had inadvertantly taken with my empty plate. About this time the witress comes back and tells me her manager has asked me to leave because their is a family waiting for my table!. Now I had been at my seat for about 35 minutes at this point and could not believe what I was hearing so I asked her to repeat herself and at this point she bursted out crying (endearing me to several male customers) and the manager ( a middle-eastern fella named Elsin) ran over and asked me of their was a problem, I explained to him under no uncertain terms did I appreciate being asked to leave after not even fully completeing my breakfast and if he needed the table that bad he should have seated me at the counter like I wanted in the first place. At this point he fully denies asking her to tell me to leave ( the wiatress, all of maybe 17, is hysterical by this point) and tosses her under the bus. Another waitress who knows me as a long time customer tells Mr. Elsin that I am a LONG time customer and have always tipped good (10 bucks usually) and that I should not be treated this way, Mr. Elsin then pointed a threatening finger at her and told her to be quiet. A male patron then proceeded to mouth off at me like I had done something wrong and I turned and told him if he didn't like it I'd take him outside and settle it, he declined my offer. So as I'm leaving I ask the manager for the owners name and phone number so I could complain, he stated he didn't know it. I told him I would NOT leave until I had a way to contact the corporate office to tell them of this matter. He came back out the door with a phone number and the name Kazi on a peice of paper. On my way home I called the number and guess what, Mr.Elsin answered the phone! and said hello? I could not believe he just gave me his personal Ph.# instead of what I wanted. he asked me to give him 24 hours to straighten everything out and I asked him what could he possibly do to give me my integrity back and to do all of this in front of my 1 year old granddaughter would NOT be tolerated, I asked him to get back to me when he had a " resolution" and he said OK, right before he hung up I asked him how he planned to contact me and he then asked me for my PH#. I get the feeling that he is going to try and sweep this under the rug but after several years of sub-standard service I come to this waffle house because most of the employees know me and I usually get good service and I'm not afraid to pay for it. I will not tolerate this and I will taek this up with the waffle house CEO if I have to, nobody should expect that kind of treatment at a place where they spend money regularly. Jack Mac

Hi all, I had a waffle House experience today that will never be forgotten. I went to my local Waffle house in Dacula Georgia this Sunday morning like I have every Sunday morning for the past 3 years with my 1 year old granddaughter. Jack Mac

Jack Mac,

It is a shame that you had a bad experience at your regular WH. I agree that you should contact whoever you think would be appropriate to register your complaint I can tell that you are upset.

Since you made your very first post on Roadfood to air your complaint about this, I think it would be fitting to also let us know what you find out from the WH people who you contact. Like name, email, their response, etc. I would like to know; and I expect others may as well.Good luck! And welcome to the forums.

Hondamototech: I e-mailed your remarks to the main office of Waffle House. I am a extreme fan of Waffle House as it seems you are since you have been regular for 3 years. I enjoy every thing on their menu. Their has browns are the best on the planet.

The reason I e-mailed it to them as they have better than 1400 stores and I am sure they would want to know about it. Their product is too good not to care. I believe they will be happy to receive.

The ONLY solution is for the manager to leave. It sounds like the staff likes you -- but you could never go back to that location again without wondering about the integrity of your food.

I have little confidence in corporate America -- I'd be delighted to hear that they do something. Meanwhile I can avoid them for awhile.

Let us know if they come through. It would be a surprise to see them do more than do something perfunctory. If they do come through with a viable solution it would show that all in all they still are the viable chain.

The ONLY solution is for the manager to leave. It sounds like the staff likes you -- but you could never go back to that location again without wondering about the integrity of your food.

I have little confidence in corporate America -- I'd be delighted to hear that they do something. Meanwhile I can avoid them for awhile.

Let us know if they come through. It would be a surprise to see them do more than do something perfunctory. If they do come through with a viable solution it would show that all in all they still are the viable chain.

You've been going to the restaurant for 3 years with a 1 year old?

Why do you have little confidence in corporate America??? Do you bank? Do you grocery shop? Do you buy gas? Do you go to hospitals for care? Do you travel? Do you live?

A company that incorporates has nothing to do with the quality of what they do. It is to protect the interest of the stockholders.

I should not elaborate on this however it bothers me to hear folks pick on something that has nothing to do about nothing.

Quality depends on the management. What management wants, management will get. If management wants extreme quality, they will get. Same goes with mom and pop. Most larger chains, if that is what you are referring to has a SOM to guide all the other restaurants. They have to obide to these terms to pass their inspections. Some do and some don't. Mom and pop do not have these and you have believe that what they are doing is correct. There are no guidelines.

I love WH too! For years I tried to get my brother to eat at one when we were traveling and he just would not do it. Finally, one day I told him "Dammit, I am eating at WH, if you dont want to eat just get some coffee". Needless to say, he is now hooked.

The Pork chop dinner is fantastic, If you haven't tried it, please do.

Some things I have noticed over the years:While this may seem commonsense, if you walk in and the floor is unswept..... Leave. The food will not be up to standard.

Forgive me Mississippians but I have found the WH's in Southern Mississippi to be below standard.

Look for newly opened WH. Without fail, I have found that the newly opened ones give much larger portions.

Something is wrong with me.......................I have never been in a Waffle House that has had good service, good food or seemed clean. I am sorry but this is what I have found. I have a daughter who loves Waffle Houses and loves her trips down south where she finds them. As far as I am concerned, I would rather skip breakfast or lunch or dinner than have to eat at one. The only positive experience I have ever had at one is when we ate at one on the way back to our hotel from the Giants-Bills Superbowl game. I was so happy with the results of that game, that I could have eaten any thing and been happy

The ONLY solution is for the manager to leave. It sounds like the staff likes you -- but you could never go back to that location again without wondering about the integrity of your food.

I have little confidence in corporate America -- I'd be delighted to hear that they do something. Meanwhile I can avoid them for awhile.

Let us know if they come through. It would be a surprise to see them do more than do something perfunctory. If they do come through with a viable solution it would show that all in all they still are the viable chain.

You've been going to the restaurant for 3 years with a 1 year old?

Why do you have little confidence in corporate America??? Do you bank? Do you grocery shop? Do you buy gas? Do you go to hospitals for care? Do you travel? Do you live?

A company that incorporates has nothing to do with the quality of what they do. It is to protect the interest of the stockholders.

I should not elaborate on this however it bothers me to hear folks pick on something that has nothing to do about nothing.

Quality depends on the management. What management wants, management will get. If management wants extreme quality, they will get. Same goes with mom and pop. Most larger chains, if that is what you are referring to has a SOM to guide all the other restaurants. They have to obide to these terms to pass their inspections. Some do and some don't. Mom and pop do not have these and you have believe that what they are doing is correct. There are no guidelines.

Paul E. SmithKnoxville, TN

You are right.

I guess I have a lack of confidence in the middle managers of the world these days -- the people who would be charged to sort out this situation.

I've been worn down by a lack of responsiveness to complaints/incidents by organizations -- not by the corporations.

I could recite a few examples that would lead way off topic, but, as I say, I'd be pleased to hear that WH comes through with a responsible response. I hope the upper (or middle) management gets a solution done right.